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How old is your little one? Weight gain slows down as they get bigger. Feel free to email me if you'd like some personal support. I've been nursing for 20 months and have pretty much been through everything there is to go through as far as nursing goes. Hang in there momma!
chrissiwit@gmail.com |
| posted by chrissi on 11/14/2008 12:19 PM
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Not eating enough or drinking enough definitely can cause problems. You might want to start carrying a half gallon jug of water around with you and make sure you empty it (into yourself, pouring it down the sink doesn't count *wink*) at least once a day. Stress can too, so try to relax. Have you tried any of the herbal teas to help increase supply? A lot of women find they really help. A couple name brands that are good are Traditional Medicinals Mother's Milk tea and Yogi Nursing Mom tea.
Another possibility is that your supply isn't really dwindling and that your little dude is just a slow grower. It does happen despite what idiot doctors might tell you. Keep up the good work, mama! You are doing the best thing you can for your baby. |
| posted by Indigo Ottyr on 11/14/2008 12:21 PM
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| My pedi. said that my little one needs to gain more weight also. He's been saying that since she was 6 months, and wanted me to put her on formula. However, she was taking as much breastmilk as she could take. She took so much that she usually spit up afterwards a little. So I just ignored what my doctor said and kept breasteeding her. As long as they are healthy, and seem full, they more than likely are! And once you start them on baby food they tend to gain a little more weight, but still not as much as the doctor recommends! Isn't there a problem with obesity among children, why are doctors trying to get babies to gain a million pounds. My daughter is 11 months and weighs 17 pounds, she weighed 7lbs. at birth, her pedi. wants her to weigh 20lbs right now. I say if your son is controlling how much he gets, than he obviously is getting enough! |
| posted by Mary on 11/14/2008 12:32 PM
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Hi, I'm currently breastfeeding my third baby and I agree with everything everybody above said. I want to emphasize three things: 1) The more you feel like a failure about the breastfeeding the harder it will be for your body to do what is needed to make milk for your baby. So relax and enjoy the snuggle time. Your baby will tell you if there is not enough. And the more you relax and nurse him, even if you think there isn't a lot coming out, the more your body will get the signal to keep on going. Confidence does a lot for supply. 2) If your husband thinks you're not eating and drinking enough, you almost certainly aren't. Weight loss by itself won't determine your milk production, but now that your baby is born your body is going to revert to meeting your survival needs first and ensuring nutrition for your baby second. So definitely take time to eat and drink plenty. If water is boring you, try making jugs of flavored water by floating fruits or cucumber for a couple of hours. And definitely eat plenty, you need 300-500 more calories per day to support your baby. 3) who thinks your baby isn't gaining enough weight, and how can they tell? if your baby has a wet mouth, is on a manageable schedule and seems happy most of the time, and is making an appropriate number of diapers, then you're doing well. Weight gain is a difficult measure past the first couple of weeks because so many other factors come into play.
If your fears are true and your milk supply is dwindling, you STILL should not feel like a failure. Breastfeeding is just one in an infinite list of gifts that we give to our children over the course of their lives. The investment you are making in the effort to give him your best won't stop if your body doesn't cooperate in spite of your best efforts. Don't waste this precious time on feelings of failure. Do the best you can but no matter what, celebrate your sweet baby. You are a great mom! |
| posted by Cindy on 11/14/2008 01:10 PM
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| thanks for the advice. Noah is 5 months old and is about 14 lbs...he started out at 6lbs 15 oz. I read that they are supposed to gain about a lb a month at this age and he gained half of that...he's recently been fussy and i thought it was teeth but i think he's hungry. He's wanting to eat every two hours...which he's been doing for a while. But at every other feeding time i have a couple of drops come out and thats it. We recently began giving him formula occasionally (before it was just when we went out--i cant pump extra). He seems happier when we supplement with the formula. He's having wet diapers every couple of hours sometimes a little less. and a bm every 2-3 days. I am stressed out and worn out because he wakes up about every 2 hours at night. Hopefully my lacation appt will help out next week and I'm trying to drink more and eat more...my current goal is 4 oz of water an hour. |
| posted by on 11/14/2008 01:33 PM
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| ohyeah...i tried the mothers milk tea...the traditional organics i think...i can't stomach the stuff.. I hate black licorish and it smells just like it. I might try the fenugreek capsules to see if they help. :) |
| posted by on 11/14/2008 01:50 PM
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Eating every couple hours is not at all unusual. Do you sleep with your baby? If he sleeps with you, you can leave a spigot out and he can nurse whenever he wants to, often without you even having to completely wake up.
Keep in mind that what babies are 'supposed' to do with regards to weight gain and such is based on an average. Some kids are naturally below average and some are naturally above it. And a LOT of kids are forced to be above what they should be because formula is making them fat.
The more you supplement with formula, the less you are likely to produce, so really you are better off just letting him nurse more often. |
| posted by Indigo Ottyr on 11/14/2008 01:58 PM
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Eating every couple hours is not at all unusual. Do you sleep with your baby? If he sleeps with you, you can leave a spigot out and he can nurse whenever he wants to, often without you even having to completely wake up.
Keep in mind that what babies are 'supposed' to do with regards to weight gain and such is based on an average. Some kids are naturally below average and some are naturally above it. And a LOT of kids are forced to be above what they should be because formula is making them fat.
The more you supplement with formula, the less you are likely to produce, so really you are better off just letting him nurse more often. |
| posted by Indigo Ottyr on 11/14/2008 01:58 PM
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| sorry. nak...baby posted twice |
| posted by Indigo Ottyr on 11/14/2008 01:59 PM
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| I had the same problem and had to give up breastfeeding because he was losing weight and my breasts were not producing anything at all. My problem is genetics the same thing happened to my mother and great-grandmother. You might want to look into you family history if everything fails and you stop producing. Nowadays formula is very close to breast milk. Once he started the formula he gained all his weight back, now he is 17.7 lbs. Try everything you can before you resort to formula, I believe breast milk is best, but if he loses weight you need to at least supplement him with formula. |
| posted by Alisa on 11/14/2008 02:50 PM
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My baby weighed 14 lbs at 4 months, but only weighed 14lbs 13oz at her 6 month check up, So weight gain is different in every child. She is above average in height and below in weight. It really depends on the baby, and if you or your hubby were tiny babies more than likely your baby will be too.
I agrre with the others, try to relax when feeding and leave him on the breast longer to increase your flow. Good luck!! |
| posted by Mary on 11/14/2008 02:58 PM
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To help the mother's milk tea go down try mixing it in a strong-tasting juice like orange or pineapple. You can also buy concentrated drops of the stuff from health food stores or online that might be easier for you to get down. From the sounds of it you are diagnosing right and you need some help.
No matter what, be proud of yourself for being a loving, attentive mother. Don't waste energy beating yourself up. You've given your son 5 months!! That's wonderful. A lot of women give up by choice or because they had to go back to work by now. Keep us posted, I'm sure your appointment will be helpful. |
| posted by Cindy on 11/14/2008 04:06 PM
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what helped us is that she wanted to feed every hour even if she wasn't hungry i was her "paci" so it helped production. I also tried everything and finally my own grandmother told me to drink a beer with dinner 2-3 times a week. The hops helps with production there is also a tea that is just hops but I couldn't find it. Good luck
and my daughter is 13 months and is just at 20 lbs she wasn't gaining a pound a month so i felt bad also. but she eats a lot now and still nurses so I guess all is well. |
| posted by Kristhal on 11/17/2008 10:54 AM
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| I wouldn't worry about your son's weight gain. I'm an RN & I was taught that an infant needs to double his weight between 4-7 months & he has done that. He should triple it by the end of the first year. If he is not losing weight, I wouldn't worry to much. Keep your appointment, but don't stress over it. Stress will also decrease your milk supply. |
| posted by Melanie on 11/19/2008 04:20 PM
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| How did your appointment go? Are things improving? Let us know how you're doing. I hope you're feeling more confident now and that the consultant helped. |
| posted by Cindy on 11/19/2008 04:53 PM
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well the first thing I had to do was realize its not the end of the world if he gets formula. I've lost a lot of weight...which at my size isn't good. She said I weigh 98 lbs eek....whats happening is I'm eating about 1800 calories per day and i need to be eating 3000+ she said for me to eat lots of snacks...drink juice...add butter and mayo to stuff (which isn't that bad since I'm from the south). She wants me to get bloodwork done to check my thyroid--sometimes during a pregnancy it goes hyperactive....i've a pretty high metablism anyway so that could constitute something. If I increase my caloric intake and gain some weight, she told me to try fenugreek capsules in a week and she'd see me at the next breastfeeding meeting. I'm not worried about it now and if I can't sustain me and Noah, then the best thing for him is formula. Thanks for all the responses. I breastfeed him what I have and then we give him about 3 oz at every feeding which is now about every 3 hours. He won't suck if nothing comes out so I can't be his pacifier...which he actually doesn't want unless he's tired.
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| posted by on 11/19/2008 09:01 PM
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| Thanks for the update. I'm glad you had such a positive experience with your consultant and you have a plan. I hope it helps things go in the direction you want, but if it doesn't I'm glad it sounds like you're at peace (or getting there) with how things are going. Great job, Mom! |
| posted by Cindy on 11/20/2008 11:17 AM
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| so I was trying to hard to get my milk supply up and eating more calories, etc and I got the gosh darn stomach flu over thanksgiving *thanks hubby* now its time to start again if i'm not already in too deep. Thank God for my mil and sil that kept him for a couple of hours so I could sleep. I was so worn out from being sick and taking care of my hubby and son....how to do it while sick ... |
| posted by on 11/30/2008 09:18 PM
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| Doesn't that just figure? Welcome to motherhood -- land of the indispensable. You're so lucky you have your MIL & SIL nearby. Mine are cross country and I just have to power through. Hope you're feeling better & good luck with the production! |
| posted by Cindy on 12/01/2008 06:11 PM
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| I know about the powering through it!! You feel as if you might fall over any moment, yet some how you find the strength to keep going! I'm doing that now, also. Thank God for the power He gives to us mothers! |
| posted by Mary on 12/02/2008 10:50 AM
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